Rahul Gandhi: In a rare interview with the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi poured his heart out on a number of subjects. He talked about his experience during the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and how he believed Prime Minister Narendra Modi could be beaten in the next election. He also recalled fond memories with grandmother Indira Gandhi and father Rajiv Gandhi. But most important, he answered why he is still single at 52.
On his recently completed yatra, Gandhi claimed that the journey was more like a ‘Tapasya’ (sacrifice).
‘Makes you look inside’
“… everyone’s limits, myself included, are far beyond what we think. In Sanskrit, the oldest language in the world, there is a word, Tapasya , which is difficult for a Western mind to understand. Someone translates it with ‘sacrifice’, ‘patience’, but the meaning is different: to generate heat. The march is an action that generates warmth, makes you look inside yourself, makes you understand the extraordinary resilience of the Indians,” Gandhi said.
He was asked about polarisation between Hindus and Muslims. Gandhi acknowledged that polarisation existed but it was not as dire as portrayed by the media under the aegis of the government. He claimed it was a tool to distract people from more harrowing and real issues like “poverty, illiteracy, inflation, the post-covid crisis of small, indebted entrepreneurs and landless farmers”.
Asked to comment on India and fascism, Gandhi said, “Fascism is already there. Democratic structures collapse. Parliament is no longer working. I haven’t been able to speak for two years; as soon as I speak they take my microphone off. The balance of powers is off. Justice is not independent. Centralism is absolute. The press is no longer free.”
Of opposition unity
On a question, if Prime Minister Narendra Modi could be defeated in the next election, the Congress leader expressed his belief in the Opposition unity. He said the Bharatiya Janata Party would 100 per cent be defeated if the other parties came together.
“… it’s sure he (PM Modi) can be beaten. Provided you oppose a vision: not linked to the right or the left, but to peace and union. Fascism is defeated by offering an alternative. If two visions of India confront each other in the vote, we will be able to prevail,” said Rahul.
Rahul avoided commenting on the Russia-Ukraine war citing that it was a foreign policy matter, but he still called for “peaceful solutions”.
Shedding light on his views on India-China relations, the former Congress president said, “Of peaceful competition. I don’t think the West can be competitive with China on an industrial level, especially in low-value-added production. India can and should be. For the resilience of her people.”
When asked about his relations with India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the Wayanad MP claimed that he never knew him but considered Nehru as his “guide”.
Indira Gandhi’s favourite
Gandhi, however, said he was his grandmother and former PM Indira Gandhi’s favourite. Sharing a tale of their strong bond, Gandhi said, “I hated spinach and peas. But my father Rajiv, was very strict and wanted me to finish everything. Then my grandmother would open the newspaper and tell me: Rahul, read here. It was the agreed signal hidden by the newspaper – I spilled the peas or spinach on her plate.”
Gandhi even shared that his grandmother was sure of her death, and she had even warned him personally about the same while requesting him to not cry when the day arrived… “at least not in public”.
‘Rajiv was aware his demise was near’
The Congress leader made another shocking claim that Rajiv Gandhi too was aware that his demise was near and said, “I don’t know if he knew it was the Tamil Tigers who would kill him. But he felt that a concentration of energies, interests and forces had arisen which would have cost him his life.”
Gandhi, however, rejected claims that he was afraid of his life too. “It’s not a matter of fear. I do what I have to do.”
He also stated that he would like to have kids, but he was unsure why he was still unmarried at 52.
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